Several moments after the echo of wingbeats faded, the trio of Revenants were still huddled beneath the windowsill.

  “Am I the only one who thinks that thing was the general? The one Aelius mentioned?” Davon placed his bow in his lap, finding some comfort in the weapon’s nearness. “He did say this was ‘his domain.’”

  “Yeah, it’s probably a safe bet,” Lyla whispered. “I admit… now that he knows we’re here, I think we should call off the mission. Head back and report.”

  “But we have a chance to do something great here,” Kai countered, the uncertainty in his voice fading with each word. “I mean, imagine if we managed to kill him?”

  “And how, exactly, do you plan on doing that Kai?” Lyla snapped. “If you didn’t notice, that thing might as well be a dragon!”

  “Probably worse, considering what else we’ve encountered in the Crimson Reaver army,” Davon added, running his fingers nervously across his bow.

  “Oh come on, you always manage to form a plan for everything.” Kai slammed a fist against his thigh. “Surely we can do something to tip the scales!”

  “You’re getting overconfident again,” Lyla warned. “Remember how that ended last time?”

  “No, I think he has a point.” Davon’s interjection drew a furious gaze from Lyla, but he pressed on. “Remember our mission? ‘If possible, identify the enemy leader.’”

  Kai nodded enthusiastically. “That’s right. We can’t go back yet. We need to figure out exactly what that thing is.”

  “Even if we don’t kill it, we could set a trap,” Davon continued. “Hurt it enough to get some more information. Maybe even force it to retreat, and follow it.”

  Davon’s mind started spinning with ideas. He considered the damaged buildings, the tiny alley, the beast’s seeming eagerness for a hunt…

  “I’m willing to act as bait again!” Kai declared proudly. “I’m good as bait!”

  Lyla sighed, rubbing her temples in frustration. “Kai, that’s not something you should be proud of. It’s just going to get you in trouble.”

  “Fortunately for our brave warrior, I think he would fit a different role much better,” Davon said slowly. “I have a plan that just might work. This time, I’ll be the bait.”

  Lyla narrowed her eyes at Davon. “What are you thinking now, D?”

  “We use the environment against the creature,” Davon replied. “Really, it’s as simple as that.”

  Davon walked his companions through every detail of his plan. Kai was immediately onboard. By the end of the explanation, even Lyla nodded.

  “It’s worth a try, at least,” she agreed, tightening her grip on her spear.

  “Good.” Davon pushed himself to his feet. “Then let’s get started.”

  —

  Roughly twenty minutes later, Davon was standing in an empty alleyway, all alone. He tapped one of his blades anxiously against the gravel path as he leaned against the wall.

  Turning his attention to one of the second story windows above him, Davon spotted Lyla peeking out of it. She gave him a single nod.

  Davon gathered his courage and stepped into the middle of the alley. Reattaching his blades into a bow, he aimed the weapon directly at the sky, invoking the Scattershot rune.

  Nerves halted his movements for three long seconds. He took a deep breath.

  Then he let his shot fly.

  The arrow flew directly up, scattering into specks of pale blue light as it reached its apex. Caught in gravity’s pull, the splinters began to fall back down, dissipating in mid-air.

  A proud announcement of Davon’s location to the entirety of Heinburg.

  The silence that followed was deafening. Davon held his breath. When the echo of powerful wingbeats finally reached him, Davon unlocked his bow and took a blade in each hand.

  Moments later, a massive shadow blocked out the sunlight as the massive beast landed in the alley, only a few feet away from Davon. The creature lowered its head with a low growl. Davon saw the pale gray glow of eyes behind the visor as the monster loomed over him.

  Heartbeat quickening in fear, Davon grasped his swords with the force of a madman. It was all he could do to stop his instincts from sending him into a full sprint away from this adversary.

  “Giving up the game already, little mouse?” the beast purred.

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  Swallowing his fear, Davon stood his ground. He recognized the cruel look in the creature’s eyes: the gaze of a predator playing with his prey.

  Forcing a smile, Davon replied, “A rather boring game, hide-and-seek.”

  The ground rumbled with the sound of the beast’s laughter. “So you would dare a direct confrontation, here and now? With all of my men mere minutes away?”

  “And you would have me believe that a monster like you would let his soldiers steal the fun?” Davon prodded, putting on his best act of fearlessness.

  The beast scrutinized Davon for several seconds, letting the silence linger.

  “You stand before General Tenebris. You may scream the name as you are crushed underfoot.” The general drew himself up to his full height. “What is your name, mouse? I would know whom I slay.”

  It was Davon’s turn to let the silence linger as he stared down his adversary.

  “Davon,” the Revenant declared, flourishing his blades before reattaching them in one smooth movement. “Here to deliver your reckoning.”

  The sound of shattering glass echoed through the alley. In that moment, adrenaline surged through Davon, slowing his perception of time. Seconds stretched into minutes as he watched Kai jump from the window of a nearby building, axe in hand.

  Before Tenebris could react, Davon invoked his Shadow-step rune, rapidly moving away from the general as he aimed his bow at the beast’s head.

  Carried by gravity, Kai swung his axe downwards just as he landed on Tenebris’ back. The warrior’s axe collided with the general’s armor. A thundering CRACK resounded through the alley, and a shower of sparks obscured Kai from Davon’s view.

  Lyla didn’t miss a beat. As Tenebris staggered slightly under the weight of Kai’s blow, fiery explosions rocked the buildings on either side. A shower of small debris started hurtling down towards the general.

  Davon was smiling freely as he invoked his Scattershot rune and loosed a quick shot towards Tenebris’ head. Seemingly overwhelmed by the ambush, the general failed to react in time. His face was showered with arrow splinters. But most of the projectiles bounced harmlessly against the general’s armor, sending a wave of fear through Davon’s being.

  Davon forced the fear aside. The purpose of his shot wasn’t to harm, but to distract.

  Leaping off the general’s back, Kai landed beside Davon just as the shower of debris hit the beast. A cloud of dust and dirt burst into the air, obscuring Tenebris from view.

  Lyla conjured a wind and floated down to stand with her companions. The trio looked on in anticipation as the cloud dissipated, weapons held high, ready to fight a wounded general.

  Yet, even before the dust settled, amused laughter shook the earth.

  “Do you really call this a reckoning?” Tenebris mocked as he pushed himself back to his feet, sending a cavalcade of debris sliding off his back. “Rocks and cheap tricks?”

  Tenebris flapped his wings once, sending all the dust and dirt back into the air. Davon raised his arms to shield his face as the flying detritus slammed into him, carried by the force of the general’s wings. Struggling to maintain his balance, Davon stumbled a few steps backwards.

  When the air cleared, Davon watched in horror as Tenebris rose onto his hind legs. The general grabbed a whole section of nearby building with both of his clawed hands.

  “Let me show you true reckoning, Davon,” Tenebris growled, ripping the chunk of building away.

  “SCATTER!” Davon shouted.

  He invoked his Shadowstep rune once again and leapt onto Tenebris’ back. Clutching onto the general’s armor plating, Davon was able to maintain his balance, but regret filled him almost immediately

  He now had the perfect view of the general’s attack on his companions.

  Tenebris whipped his arms towards Lyla and Kai. Distorting the air with the force of the throw, he sent massive fragments of debris towards them. Every second seemed to last for an hour as the boulders flew towards Davon’s teammates.

  Reacting in time, Lyla conjured a gust of wind and threw herself directly into the air, just barely dodging the boulder meant to crush her.

  Kai, on the other hand, raised his axe and conjured a barrier. Davon watched in shocked silence as the boulder collided with Kai’s barrier and smashed it. Without slowing down, the boulder slammed into Kai, carrying him with it as it crashed into a building at the alley’s end.

  Davon had only an instant to process the red smear left behind by the impact. Then Tenebris bucked and sent Davon flying into the air. Before he could realize what was happening, a clawed hand wrapped itself around Davon’s torso, holding him in a vice grip.

  “THIS is true reckoning, Davon!” Tenebris roared at the Revenant in his hand, his voice echoing for all of Heinburg to hear.

  Davon felt the pressure of the general’s fingers and realized Tenebris was about to crush him like an insect. With fractions of a second to spare, Davon Shadow-stepped to the balcony of a nearby building, collapsing onto his knees as soon his feet touched the ground.

  The realization of Kai’s second death struck Davon like lightning. He realized, in that moment, just how severely they had underestimated their enemy.

  Again.

  Hopelessness overwhelmed him, well and truly, without even a trace of determination or defiance left to push him forward.

  The sound of light footsteps right beside him yanked Davon out of his thoughts. Lyla hooked her hand under his arm, dragging him up to his feet and screaming in his ear.

  “We need to RUN, Davon!”

  The pair dashed into the building, looking for another way out. But when they reached a window facing another alley, Tenebris landed right in front of it.

  “This is MY domain, little mice!” Tenebris called mockingly. “There is no escape!”

  The pair turned around, but before they could run, the floor beneath them collapsed. Lyla’s hand was torn from Davon’s as they fell several feet to the ground below. The building crumbled around them, covering them both in piles of rubble.

  As soon as the dust settled, Davon strained against the rocks covering him. After a frantic struggle, he managed to crawl out from under the debris. He staggered to his feet and looked around wildly. Panic surged anew as he spotted Tenebris stalking towards him. Then his eyes landed on Lyla, squirming under a large pile of rocks a few feet away.

  Davon ran to her and began pushing the rocks away. But just as he managed to pull most of her torso out of the rubble, his vision went white with pain.

  When his sight cleared, Davon had his back to a wall. He found that he was unable to move his legs. He could only watch as Tenebris plucked Lyla from the rubble. The poor girl struggled against her captor, kicking the beast’s claws helplessly as the general lifted her high, blocking Davon’s view of the sun.

  Then Tenebris squeezed his claw. Davon could only see Lyla’s silhouette as it went limp, blood dripping onto the ground below.

  The general let go of Lyla’s body. She dropped to the floor unceremoniously.

  “Do you understand now, Davon?” Tenebris purred as he stalked towards the broken Revenant. “Your fate was sealed the moment you stepped into my domain.”

  The last thing Davon saw was Tenebris raising a clawed fist.

  Then he closed his eyes, embracing his death.